Gulf states send envoys back to Qatar

Gulf states took a major step towards repairing a damaging internal spat as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to return their ambassadors to Qatar.

The six-member Gulf Co-operation Council met in Saudi Arabia late on Sunday, agreeing to overturn a decision taken eight months ago when Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama removed their envoys to put pressure on Doha for its support for the pan-Arab Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.

Qatar, which in September expelled some leading Brotherhood officials, has argued that it met the terms of conditions laid down by Saudi Arabia to end any perceived interference in its neighbours' affairs.

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi had also called for Doha to rein in sympathetic coverage for the Brotherhood on the state-owned Al Jazeera television network, as well as asking Qatar to remove sanctuary for Gulf dissidents resident there.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have formed a common axis with Egypt to undermine political Islam in the Middle East, supporting the military coup against the country's first elected president, the Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi.

Qatar, a backer of the Brotherhood during the Arab spring, has found itself under growing pressure from this counter-revolutionary axis.

In Libya, for example, Qatar and Turkey have been sympathetic to Islamist factions while the UAE has launched air strikes on such groups and their allies from bases in Egypt.

The UAE on Saturday blacklisted 83 groups as terrorists, including the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates, as well as global jihadi groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, known as Isis.

Qatar, isolated regionally this year, has also faced international pressure over its hosting of the football World Cup in 2022 and claims - denied by Doha - that it is not doing enough to limit domestic fundraising for Islamist extremist groups, especially those fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have played leading roles in the US-led coalition against Isis. Qatar joined the coalition but has not taken a military role, arguing for action against the regime of Mr Assad as the only way to undermine the growth of jihadi groups such as Isis.

Kuwait acted as a broker between the parties that were in disagreement.

The last GCC member, Oman, is less interested in forging a common GCC purpose, acting as an intermediary to Iran, the traditional foe of the Sunni Arab Gulf states.

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